Maersk Sealand wins digital ship prize

“Maersk Sealand wins the Digital Ship prize for having the most usable rate database.
In a quick trail of services by Maersk Sealand, OOCL and APL (commonly considered the leading shipping lines in terms of information technology) looking for a rate for shipping a cargo of rope from Singapore to New York, OOCL required the user to register and then could not return a rate. APL returned a series of different rates, although it was not clear what the data being returned actually was.

“The Maersk Sealand system returned a series of rates, making it absolutely obvious what the data being returned was; there were clear step by step instructions into how to calculate any additional costs, for example costs of taking the container through the Panama canal; there was also assistance in which rate should be chosen. No prior experience in booking shipments was required.”

Above is quoted from the article “Delivering rates online” printed in Digital Ships, March 2001.